The Veteran's mood disorder is currently rated at 50 percent, and the Board has ordered a remand to determine if her symptoms warrant an increased rating. Additionally, the effective date for TDIU must be deferred until the mood disorder claim is resolved.
The deciding factor: The Veteran asserts that her suicidal and homicidal ideation are more prevalent and persistent than previously interpreted during her most recent VA examination in December 2012.
- Claimed conditions
- mood disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 20, 2019
- Citation
- 19148172
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include major depressive disorder, mood disorder, and unspecified depressive disorder due to pre-decisional duty to assist errors.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for a mood disorder as secondary to the service-connected headaches or tinnitus, finding no probative evidence linking the two conditions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for further development, including obtaining private treatment records and scheduling VA examinations.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for an earlier effective date and a higher disability rating for stress-related headaches, as well as remanded the claim for a higher disability rating for a mood disorder due to a scheduling issue.
We are not the VA. Veterans’ Rights is an independent resource built for veterans. We are not the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, not part of the government, and not endorsed by any government agency.
This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.